Healthcare Inequality and the Impact of COVID on the Black Community

African Americans are at much higher risk of contracting COVID-19 than the rest of the population, and they are much more likely than other races to die from the virus. This disparity is due to the barriers to healthcare access and usage and distrust of healthcare in the black community. The distrust of the healthcare system historically stems from the past unethical treatments of blacks from the Tuskegee syphilis study, forced sterilization policies targeting black women, and misuse of Henrietta Lack’s cells to name a few. This distrust is only compounded by the lack of healthcare officials from the black communities. Black families often do not have doctors and nurses in their families to advocate for healthcare systems, which has resulted in a lower adoption of the COVID vaccine. 

The medical community needs to actively work to build more trust with the Black community to help overcome vaccine and healthcare hesitancy. However, this is not an easy and quick fix. Building state of the art medical facilities will not be enough to erase the centuries of mistreatment and distrust in the healthcare system. The solution will require a multifaceted approach to address the various systemic barriers that disproportionately affect the black community. 

Some of the key healthcare access barriers for the Black community include:

These barriers are perpetuated by a healthcare system lacking consistent objectives to improve wellness in the black community and remediate the legacy of structural racism. To address the healthcare and COVID gaps in the black community, local and federal organizations must create and monitor specific goals for the black community to strengthen their access to health systems and knowledge and usage of healthcare solutions to ensure they heal the communities and prevent further healthcare inequality.